I know I'm not alone there -- we've all started some sort of exercise regimen only to let life, work, school -- the old routine -- sneak back in. And you know what? All the gadgets in the world can't keep it from happening. (Or, in my case, all the gadgets in the world are the direct cause.) That one's totally on me.

But, wait. No it's not. Frankly, I'm very disappointed in all of you. Two weeks away, and not one "What happened to Phil?!?!?!" thread in our our Health and Fitness forums. Fine. I get it. I'm on my own here. Thanks for nothing.

So we've got a week to go in Mobile Nations Fitness Month. And this ain't gonna be easy -- I head to Mobile World Congress on Friday. Here's what we're going to do:

I'm strapping the Fitbit back on. Let's see how far one walks at MWC, shall we? And perhaps there will be a contest around it.

From now through Feb. 29 (it's a leap year, yo!), anyone who posts in the Health and Fitness forums is entered to win an Acer Iconia Tab A200. (Anyone who posts "I'm only posting to enter to win!" is lame and will not win.)

If you see me sitting down somewhere, kick me in the rear and tell me to get my fat butt moving. Time's a wastin'.

So Mobile Nations Fitness Month isn't yet a bust. We've still got some time left. And perhaps we've all learned an important lesson. ... ... ... Ah, right. The tech is fun, but it's not going to put in the miles for you.

See, where I work, you don’t get excuses. There is success and there is failure. Excuses don’t get honored. It sounds tough but it’s brutally honest, when you think about it. Succeed or fail. There are only two options.

Why should the gym be any different? Why should the Open be any different? Why should CrossFit be any different?

You can produce, or you can fail. What’s not acceptable is believing there’s a valid reason that excuses your failure or that somehow makes your lack of success okay.

What if you adopted this attitude in your life? It’s brutal, but what if you tried it?

Stop making excuses. Stop explaining failure. Stop looking to take the heat off. What’s the worst that could happen? You could fail. SO WHAT? At least you tried and at least you didn’t flap your gums with some lame-ass excuse.

Phil - It's all about calories-in vs calories-burned. I highly suggest you try the MyFitnessPal app. It's free, has a huge database of food and activity, and is easy to use on your phone or on their website (all synced together).

My wife and I have both lost weight on it. A friend of mine lost about 50 lbs with it after I suggested it. And just the other day another friend (who I hadn't mentioned it to) said he had found that app and had dropped 14.

If you get stuck working 16-hour days at the desk, yeah that sucks, but the app will help you adjust for that. You just have to note that if you don't get any exercise that day, you have to eat a little less.

I find that the app also ENCOURAGES me to get some exercise in. I know plenty of times I've thought, if I go hit the elliptical for 20 minutes, I'll have enough calories left to have some chips and salsa or something.

And with it's massive database, it also helps you to realize that some food has a lot more calories that you would expect, which can help you find a substitute for that food on a day that you don't have room for it in your calorie "budget."

So get the app, set it up to track you to lose 1 lb per week (500 calorie deficit per day), and you'd be amazed at how quickly and easily the weight comes off.

The best thing to do is spend a day or two educating yourself on proper nutrition and exercise.

Health is not a magic pill, infomercial machine, fad diet, celebrity book or phone app. It's a lifestyle. It's not rocket science, the basics are well established and mostly common sense.

The next step is to find healthy foods and exercise you enjoy, or at least don't mind. Don't get caught up in the absolute "best" diet or exercise plan. 1-2 lbs per week is generally considered a healthy weight loss rate. So it takes time, but stick with it and you can get there.

Good luck, you have already shown you are willing to make an effort, which is a great first step.

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